What makes arthur the rightful heir to the crown

Arthur eventually disarms his father, but before he can kill him, Uther assures Arthur that he loved Ygraine and could have never done anything to hurt her. Still unconvinced, Arthur keeps threatening his father, but Merlin manages to convince him that Morgause tricked him. This encounter appears to have deepened Arthur's own hatred of magic.

The Sins of the Father. When a Druid girl called Freya escaped from a bounty hunter named Halig , Halig warns Uther of what damage that the girl can do, so Uther helps Halig find Freya.

Around Camelot, there are residents being killed at night by a creature called a " Bastet ", which is actually Freya in her cursed form. Later, Halig finds Merlin, who is "acting suspiciously", and attempts to interrogate him, but Arthur steps in and stops him. One night, Arthur, Halig and the Knights of Camelot attempt the recapture of the girl, but she transforms into the Bastet , kills Halig , but is fatally wounded by Arthur in self-defence. Merlin stops the Bastet from killing Arthur, but Arthur cannot see as he is knocked out after a final blow from the Bastet.

Freya tragically dies, and Arthur notices Merlin acting suspiciously upset, although he does not question it. The Lady of the Lake. When Arthur is put under a spell to fall in love with a princess named Vivian, only Gwen can break the spell as she is Arthur's true love. Gwen has never been vocal about her true feelings for Arthur, but when he is put under enchantment Gwen shows that she really is in love with him.

She tells him she finds it difficult to express what is truly in her heart. After their problems with Lancelot, Arthur now knows that Gwen loves him as much as he loves her.

Gwen also acknowledges the pain she causes him with Lancelot. She still thinks she can never be his queen, Arthur does not agree and hopes that they can marry when he becomes king. They both know that they will never be allowed to marry whilst Uther is king, but Merlin believes Arthur can change that once he becomes king.

Sweet Dreams. A ruthless sorcerer named Alvarr , while preparing a rebellion against Uther, seeks the help of Mordred and Morgana to help him steal and wield the Crystal of Neahtid. Uther has Arthur and the Knights of Camelot raid the camp and steal back the crystal. It results in a battle , Camelot , led by Arthur, defeats Alvarr and his bandits. Mordred flee and Alvarr is captured. The Witch's Quickening.

When Arthur and Merlin go to investigate the fires of the castle of Idirsholas , Morgause has put a spell on Morgana to make everyone in Camelot fall asleep, so the Knights of Medhir can simply ride in and conquer Camelot.

They fight the knights, but they can't be defeated. Without Arthur knowing, Merlin bargains with Morgause for Morgana's life, which destroys the Knights of Medhir , just as Arthur barges into the room and sees Morgause escape with Morgana, before he can save her. The Fires of Idirsholas. Arthur is later forced, along with his knights to defend Camelot from The Great Dragon who is freed by Merlin though Arthur doesn't know it and attacks Camelot every night as revenge for his imprisonment and the near extinction of his kind.

After realising that the Dragon is too powerful for them to defeat, Arthur and Merlin go on a mission to find Balinor , a Dragonlord and unknown to Arthur Merlin's father. They find Balinor who at first refuses to return to Camelot, believing that it is perfectly fair that The Great Dragon should have revenge for everything Uther has done to him.

Balinor is eventually convinced to return when he realizes that Gaius , whom he owes a life debt, is in danger. Arthur tells him he will be rewarded but Balinor replies that he seeks no reward. Unfortunately the Dragonlord is fatally injured by an enemy king's knights and dies in Merlin's arms. Arthur watches but can't understand why Merlin is so upset as he still doesn't know Balinor is Merlin's father. Arthur and Merlin arrive back at Camelot and report the death of the last Dragonlord.

Then they go out with Arthur's knights to make one last attempt to kill The Great Dragon. The Dragon presumably kills all of Arthur's knights but Arthur rolls under a stream of fire and manages to land a blow on the Dragon with his sword. The Dragon retaliates by smashing him with one of its huge front legs, knocking him unconscious. Merlin, who gained the powers of a Dragonlord thanks to his father, banishes the Dragon from Camelot and then tells Arthur that the wound he gave the Dragon was fatal.

The Last Dragonlord. Leading the search for Morgana Pendragon. On the orders of his persistent and relentless father, Arthur, Merlin and the knights of Camelot spend almost a year searching for Morgana. One day whilst looking for her in a forest, Merlin asks Arthur if what they are doing is a good idea, but Arthur as usual disregards him. They soon find a deserted camp in a forest, and it isn't before long they are attacked by the bandits occupying the camp.

After a short battle, they are victorious. In the battle's aftermath, they see one final figure approaching; as they get closer, the group sees that it is a bloodied and dishevelled Morgana, shocking Arthur and Merlin.

After she sleeps Morgana tells Arthur about her year, and how she lived in a cave for the entire time. They share a passionate hug, and Morgana notices Merlin standing there.

Just as Arthur and Merlin leave, Morgana asks to speak to Merlin. In Arthur's chambers, Arthur notices Merlin being very cheerful and wonders why, Merlin replies because Morgana is back. When Arthur goes to train, Merlin makes Arthur lose his sword, and he is hit in the chest with a small mace and left lying face down in the mud, much to Merlin's amusement.

At a party celebrating Morgana's return, Uther outside. He sees something in the well, terrifying him. Arthur asks Gaius what may have made Uther go mad. Gaius says he has no idea, but he tells him that when he found Uther, he was crying, calling out Ygraine's name. Arthur and Sir Leon catch wind that mercenaries are flooding into Cenred's kingdom; they fear he is raising an army and inform Uther, but he does not listen due to seeing hallucinations.

All of a sudden, the warning bells sound; the body of a wounded sentry has been found. Gaius tells Arthur that the knife used to injure the man is marked with the sigil of the Blood Guard , an order of warrior priests who protect the High Priestesses of the Old Religion. The Tears of Uther Pendragon.

Arthur states that the guard is still alive and will soon identify his attacker, but he is soon killed. Uther is still weak from the ordeal and unfit to rule. The following day, a patrol of Camelot knights, led by Sir Leon discover Cenred's army and race back to alert Arthur, who finally takes charge of the city from the weakened Uther. Leon reports that Cenred's army numbered at least 20,, outnumbering Camelot's forces two to one. Gaius suggests they negotiate with Cenred, if only to buy them time to prepare, but Arthur, knowing Cenred will not be easily satisfied, orders Camelot to prepare for a siege, insisting that the castle has never been taken, thereby giving them the advantage.

He also orders that the people of Camelot's outlying villages take shelter within the city. When Leon argues they will be leaving behind their homes and livestock, Arthur replies at least they will have their lives. As night falls and Cenred's army surrounds the city, Merlin helps Arthur into his armour; as he does so, Merlin for the first time speaks openly about Arthur's destiny to be Camelot's greatest king and assurs him that the victory he will win will be remembered forever.

Arthur seems touched by Merlin's faith in him and shows a grudging respect for Merlin's wisdom, though he is quick to disguise it with his usual abrasiveness. At the urging of Morgause, Cenred begins the attack; as catapults bombarded Camelot, Cenred's army breaks through the city gates and battle erupts in the streets. Arthur and his men defend the walls and barricades, holding Cenred's men from advancing, and Uther, ignoring the advice of Gaius, Leon and Arthur, dons armor and joins the battle, fighting against the invaders.

Arthur pulls him back despite his protests that he will not let Camelot fall, a crossbow bolt hits him in the leg. With their king injured and Cenred's men overrunning the barricades, Arthur orders a retreat back to the castle, leaving the lower town to the attackers. As Cenred's men advance on the retreating Camelot soldiers, Merlin assists Arthur by using magic to block their path with fire. As the knights of Camelot fight a desperate battle to keep Cenred's men from breaking into the castle, to their horror; skeleton warriors begin to emerge from the castle and attack Camelot's army from behind.

Arthur, Merlin, Leon and a number of knights try to hold the skeletons off, but their weapons can't kill the undead warriors, only slow them down. As Arthur and his men fight a losing battle on two fronts to hold off Cenred's men and the undead, Arthur insists that they must evacuate Uther, but Gaius replies that with the lower town lost, there is no way to escape; this is now a fight to the death.

Eventually, the army of the dead suddenly return to a truly dead status. In the battle's aftermath, Merlin tries to tell Arthur something, but Morgana has gotten there ahead of him, having told Uther and Arthur that she destroyed the staff and stopped the skeletons.

After Camelot is safe, Arthur demands that Merlin attend to his chores. When Gaius is possessed by a goblin, Arthur is forced to arrest Merlin for apparently using magic, though while he does this he avoids looking Merlin in the eye. He also looks shocked when he hears that Merlin will be executed. The next day, Arthur grows suspicious of Gaius' strange behaviour when he speaks out of turn in council. He tricks Gaius into saying he will be glad to see Merlin hang, and to keep Arthur quiet, the Goblin casts a spell on Arthur to give him the ears and voice of a donkey.

Gwen and Merlin are the only two people to know about this, and when he sees her after Merlin has undone all the Goblin's work, he tells Gwen that he thinks it is best to forget the events of the last few days.

However, Merlin left Arthur with a donkey's laugh for one extra day. Goblin's Gold. Gwaine helps Arthur and at one instance, saves his life. But in the brawl, Gwaine is knocked out, so Arthur and Merlin aid him by taking him back to Camelot with them.

At Camelot, Gwaine stirs up a lot of trouble, significantly, Gwaine eats four dozen pickled eggs, to which Arthur has to pay for. Meanwhile, Dagr and Ebor are plotting their revenge for the tavern incident. They seek the help of a sorcerer named Cylferth , to help them transform into two knights. Arthur later attends an audience with the king after Gwaine attacks Sir Oswald Dagr , Gwaine is set to be executed, but Arthur steps in and states that Gwaine has a "noble heart", and so Uther only banishes Gwaine from Camelot.

Gwaine returns and helps Arthur defeat the two knights, killing the thugs. Uther, as he is stubborn, still enforces banishment on Gwaine, despite the knights' true nature being revealed. After being shot by bandits and later healed by Taliesin , Arthur returns from the Valley of Kings with Merlin, who, unbeknownst to Arthur, have seen a vision of Morgana killing the king in the Crystal Cave with a bejewelled dagger.

Therefore, when Arthur tells him he got Morgana a dagger for her birthday, Merlin is greatly panicked until it is revealed that the dagger Arthur got is plain, unlike that in Merlin's vision. To cover up his surprise, Merlin remarks that he thought girls prefer 'pretty things', which however leads Arthur to change his dagger to the one in Merlin's vision.

As a result, in yet another attempt to prevent the future, Merlin causes Morgana's accident and fetches Arthur, who brings Morgana to Gaius where it is revealed that her head injuries are fatal.

Arthur is devastated by the knowledge that Morgana will die, commenting he would give up his throne to allow her to live, and is later seen taking out his violent rage on a training dummy.

Seeing Arthur's grief at Morgana's worsening condition add to Merlin's dilemma on whether to allow Morgana to die to prevent her dark future or to save her and ultimately help persuade him to use magic to heal her. The Crystal Cave. Unknowingly, Elena is a part of a Sidhe - Queen plot controlled by her Pixie maid Grunhilda , she is a Changeling , one who is slowly becoming a Sidhe. Arthur reluctantly plans his marriage with Elena , while trying to keep his true love happy, Guinevere.

Arthur goes out horse riding with Elena, and on this journey, they discuss a lot about their childhood, but on some occasions, one particularly when Arthur gives her flowers, she sneezes on him.

When they arrive back in Camelot, she gives him an awkward, unwanted hug. Arthur, sadly proposes to Elena , while unhappily telling Gwen that their relationship has to end. Merlin handles the Sidhe-Queen plot and makes dispose of the Changeling inside Elena. Minutes prior to his marriage, Merlin and Arthur discuss about the wedding. Merlin tells Arthur that he should go with his heart, which is what he does as he interrupts Geoffrey of Monmouth during their marriage, cancelling it.

Just as the family of Gawant departs, Arthur notices something different about Elena, he sees a more mature side to her. She tells him that one day she hopes they'll find their true loves.

Later, Arthur encounters Gwen and states that he is still a "single man", and reviving their fast-developing relationship. The Changeling. Arthur learns from Morgana that Gwen had gone missing, not knowing it was a trap to lure him. When Gwen shows up, he tells Arthur and Merlin about Cenred holding her brother Elyan captive in hopes that Arthur would risk everything for Gwen.

Before they leave, Arthur makes an excuse to Uther, which would not leave the king suspicious. Before Arthur can leave with Merlin and Gwen, Morgana insists that she come along too as she is "worried" about her maid. They try to breach the Castle of Fyrien , where they were captured easily by Cenred's men. Arthur was imprisoned with Merlin, who both escaped from their cell and found Gwen and Elyan. Arthur, not being able to leave Morgana behind, went on to search for her telling the other to head for Camelot and not wait for him.

Arthur was surprised to find Morgause was present, while Cenred held a knife to Morgana's throat. Morgause then sent a Wall of Fire at Arthur, but it mysteriously exploded to her own dismay, knocking everybody in the hall out. He then carries an "injured" Morgana to the horses where Gwen and Elyan wait. They are later attacked by Cenred's bandits, where Arthur is amazed at Elyan's swordsman skills.

They arrive at Camelot, where Gwen thanks Arthur for saving her brother. Arthur then tells her that is what he would do for someone he loves. The Castle of Fyrien. To prove his worthiness to become King of Camelot, Arthur was sent on a quest to retrieve the Golden Trident of the Fisher King, alone and unaided.

Unaware of what it was, he was given a Phoenix Eye by Morgana, who pretended it was a gift for good luck, hiding the fact that the bracelet actually consumed the life force of its bearer. Travelling alone to the Perilous Lands, his energy was therefore slowly sapped.

Upon meeting Grettir , the dwarf warlock who guarded the bridge to the Fisher King's kingdom, Arthur was confused when he referred to him as "Courage" and asked where "Strength" and "Magic" were, and was troubled when told he would need "Magic" more than he knew since he did not condone its use.

Grettir noticed the Phoenix Eye on Arthur's wrist and at once knew its true nature, but did not warn Arthur of its harmful effects. Fighting his way to the Fisher King's tower, he was attacked by two Wyverns whilst the remainder of his life force was consumed. After being found and revived by Merlin and Gwaine he was angered, feeling that since they had helped him, his quest was meaningless, though he continued to search for the trident.

After being separated from Merlin in the Fisher King's throne room, he took the Trident from where the king had dropped it and brought it back to his father.

Morgana was shocked to see he had made it back alive, though Gwen and Uther were greatly relieved. The Eye of the Phoenix.

When the Manticore possesses Alice and forces her to make an attempt on the king's life. Alice poisons Uther, which results in her being locked up by Arthur. Arthur begs her to save him but she continues to blame the Manticore. But in the end, Merlin and Gaius are the ones who saved Uther. Love in the Time of Dragons.

Once Morgana had a vision of the Coronation of Queen Guinevere , she acts immediately by, with Morgause , planning to split Arthur and Guinevere's relationship.

Morgana persuades both Guinevere and Arthur to have confidence in themselves so they can romantically meet in the woods. Merlin indirectly helps Arthur and Gwen prepare for their secret meeting in the woods. Morgana then stirs up trouble when she asks Uther to go on a ride. Morgana, instead of going on a casual ride, takes Uther to where Arthur and Gwen have met. Arthur and Gwen flirt with each other, they then engage in a kiss, but they do just as Uther and Morgana arrives.

Once back in Camelot , Uther laughs and thinks this romance is hilarious, but it must not continue. Arthur argues with his father but he stubbornly does not change his mind.

Morgana then explains to Uther that this relationship appears to be rather 'sudden', and tells him that it indicates the possibility of Arthur being under an enchantment by Guinevere. Uther then acts by searching Arthur's chambers, they find a Poultice , which Gwen apparently planted there.

Arthur denies that she put it there and attempts to explain that his feelings for Guinevere are genuine, however Uther believes that he is saying that under the enchantment. After Guinevere's interrogation, Uther sentences Guinevere to death assuming the enchantment will die with her.

Arthur vows that he will never forgive him if he does as such, but Uther does not listen to any word coming from him as they are 'enchanted'. Shortly before Guinevere's execution, Arthur finds an old man planting another poultice under his pillow. He claims to be ' Dragoon the Great '.

He then 'turns himself in', 'proving' that Guinevere is entirely innocent. Uther reluctantly sentences him to death, replacing Guinevere.

However, shortly before his execution he uses magic to free himself from the guards' grasp and storms off. Arthur chases him, but instead 'finds Merlin ' instead of the old man. Arthur and Gwen later told each other that their relationship must be postponed until Arthur becomes king. Queen of Hearts. At Camelot's Decennial Tournament , Arthur's father, Uther , made a surprise entry into the tournament. Arthur's eagerness for victory of this tournament weakened as he didn't want the kingdom to misjudge his father if he beat him.

Both Arthur and Uther fought their way to the semi-final where they were forced to fight each other for a position in the final.

In his duel with Uther, Arthur was easily on top of the duel, but he deliberately lost for the sake of his father's reputation. Arthur then watched his father defeat Gilli to claim the prize of gold pieces. Uther then acknowledged to Arthur and Morgana that Arthur most definitely would have beat him and he is fully ready to become king.

The Sorcerer's Shadow. Guinevere , Arthur and Percival in the castle of the ancient kings. Arthur and Merlin later went on a search for the Cup of Life and once again met up with Gwaine. A slave trader named Jarl forced him to duel with Gwaine but thanks to Merlin's magic all three of them escaped.

They found the druids and retrieved the Cup off them. However, as Morgana secretly informed Morgause of their mission to find the Cup and Jarl informed King Cenred where they were heading, they lost it as Cenred's warriors intercepted them and captured the Cup, taking it to Cenred and Morgause to make them immortal. Arthur meanwhile was wounded by a poisoned arrow.

When they returned to Camelot, Arthur, who still hadn't recovered from his injury despite Merlin's use of magic, met Elyan in Guinevere 's house. He, Merlin, Gwaine and Elyan infiltrated Camelot, which had been taken over by Cenred's now immortal army, with Cenred himself having been betrayed and killed by Morgause to gain full control of the army.

Gaius was revealed to be hiding in a cupboard and Arthur told him to give him something to keep him going before leaving with Merlin to find his father while Gwaine, Elyan and Gaius went into hiding. Upon reaching the throne room, Arthur watched with Merlin as Morgause removed Uther's crown, and received a double shock when Morgana revealed her true allegiance with Morgause along with the fact that she was Uther's daughter, giving her a claim to the throne. Arthur, Merlin and a captive Uther, were then forced to watch in horror as Morgana was crowned Queen of Camelot.

Once taking Camelot back, Arthur welcomes the knights and kisses his future wife. Devastated by both his half sister's betrayal and his father's concealment of her true paternity, Arthur spent a week brooding on Morgana's treachery while Merlin sent word to Lancelot, requesting aid.

Merlin informed Arthur that he had a duty to both his father and his people, allowing Arthur to eventually overcome his depression and regain his confidence.

When Gwen and Sir Leon arrived, Arthur was delighted to see them but they had accidentally led Morgause's immortal knights right to them. Percival and Lancelot arrived in time to stop the knights, causing a rock slide that allowed the group to escape. With the help of his allies, Arthur infiltrated Camelot and freed his father as 'if the King was free, then Morgana will never command the peoples loyalty' and the remaining knights from prison. Morgause's army discovered them and they ended up fighting for their lives but the army was destroyed when Merlin poured blood out of the Cup of Life.

Morgana fled, taking a wounded Morgause with her. The next day, Arthur discussed Camelot's recovery with Merlin, who said that, with Uther in his emotionally unstable state due to Morgana's betrayal, Arthur may have to become a Regent King.

When the Knights of the Round Table returned with Gwen, he pulled her off her horse and kissed her for the world to see. The Coming of Arthur. Sending Merlin back to Camelot. Over a year after Morgana leaves the castle, peace is restored to Camelot, although Arthur becomes regent of the kingdom since Uther was utterly broken by Morgana's betrayal and no longer fit to rule.

Arthur has his uncle, Agravaine, become his chief advisor, unaware that his true loyalties lay with Morgana. Meanwhile, Morgana attempts to make Camelot fall by tearing open the veil between the living world and the spirit world, thus summoning dangerous creatures known as the Dorocha. The Dorocha begin to strike people down at night throughout Camelot and are immune to all but fire and light.

Arthur, desperate to resolve the crisis, learns from Gaius that the only way to defeat the Dorocha is to make a blood sacrifice on the altar in the Isle of the Blessed to repair the veil and seal the Dorocha in the spirit world.

Arthur therefore plans to sacrifice himself. He says farewell to his father and Gwen before leaving with Merlin and the knights. However, en route to the Isle of the Blessed, the group is attacked by Dorocha and Merlin throws himself in Arthur's path to protect him and is grievously injured in doing so. Though Merlin is still alive after the attack, he is dying from his wound and is in no fit state to travel. Arthur plans to return Merlin to Camelot so that Gaius would cure him, but Sir Leon and Lancelot express the need to continue the their quest before more are killed by the Dorocha.

Lancelot then offers to take Merlin back to Gaius while Arthur and the other knights continue to the Isle of the Blessed. They cut through a cave infested with Wilddeoren , where Gwaine is nearly killed by a Dorocha, and then nearly eaten by one of the Wilddeoren.

Once they reach shelter, Lancelot returns with Merlin, who has been healed by the Vilia , and they continue the journey to the Isle of the Blessed. Arthur and the others then encounter the Cailleach who demands a blood sacrifice to seal the rift between the worlds. Arthur tells her that he would sacrifice himself, but before he can do so, Merlin knocks him unconscious with his magic. Merlin then offers to take Arthur's place as a sacrifice, only to be told it is not yet his time to die, and while he is distracted, Lancelot steps through the veil and becomes the needed sacrifice.

When returning to Camelot, a funeral is held for Lancelot and Arthur expresses that Lancelot was among the the noblest of all knights.

Gwen tearfully tells him that Lancelot sacrificed himself to fulfill the promise of protecting Arthur at all costs, which she had asked of him before he left. The Darkest Hour. When actors come to Camelot for Arthur's birthday, they drug the prince so that they would be able to kill him on orders from Odin as revenge for Arthur killing his son. This is the second time Odin has tried to do this. With Arthur drugged, he is not able to fight and is saved by his father, who is mortally wounded in the process.

Desperate not to lose his father Arthur goes looking for " Dragoon " to help him with magic, not knowing that it is in fact Merlin. Arthur agrees to lift the ban on magic if his father is saved. However, Morgana learns of this plot and plants a necklace that reverses the effects of the healing magic, resulting in Uther's death and Arthur's heart hardening against magic even further. Arthur is then crowned King of Camelot. The Wicked Day. Arthur is later informed that a Dragon's Egg has been stolen, but is unaware that Merlin aided the thief, Julius Borden only to be betrayed.

Believing dragons should be extinct, Arthur, along with the knights and Merlin, journeys on a quest to find the traitor and destroy the egg. He and the knights are later poisoned after Borden spikes their food, but Merlin cures them and pursues Borden himself. Merlin eventually knocks Borden out, gains hold of the egg and escaped the tomb as it collapses leaving Borden for dead , and tells Arthur that the egg had perished with the tomb, something he believes.

Upon the discovery and capture of King Caerleon in Camelot's territory, Arthur is told by Agravaine that he should offer an ultimatum to Caerleon - either accept the terms of a severe treaty or be put to death. Arthur, having succeeded to the throne only recently and keen to assert his authority, is swayed by Agravaine's advice.

Merlin tries to convince Arthur otherwise, telling him it is unlike him not to show mercy towards a defeated enemy, but Arthur ultimately ignores him and presented Caerleon with the treaty, knowing that he could not accept the terms. Arthur then kills Caerleon in cold blood, causing his wife, Queen Annis , to declare war upon Camelot.

Morgana comes to Annis's court and offers allegiance, seeking to destroy Arthur and seize the throne of Camelot. Arthur was later convinced under Agravaine's advice to end his relationship with Gwen, stating that her low status as a servant rendered their relationship inappropriate now he was King of Camelot.

The next morning, Camelot set out for battle, and Arthur is overtaken by serious doubts about his course of action, knowing that the conflict could have been avoided. Seeing the loyalty and willingness of his men to die for him, Arthur is prompted to visit Queen Annis late at night, seeking to prevent the impending war and bloodshed.

Annis apprehends Arthur, striking him, but eventually agrees to hear him out. Arthur pleads with her to concede the right to single combat between two champions from each side instead of a full out war between the two armies, accepting responsibility for the unjust killing of Caerleon.

Merlin is caught eavesdropping and Arthur saves him from being killed, but he later questions Merlin's inability to leave things be, to which Merlin replies that he is Arthur's friend. Arthur puts himself forward to be the champion for Camelot at once, despite his knights' protests, claiming that the whole situation was the result of his own error of judgement and therefore none of his men but he ought to risk his life for it.

Annis is initially suspicious of his decision, but Morgana sardonically reassures her that to offer his own life was well within Arthur's character, and so Annis accepts the terms. The two champions set out to fight, Morgana concealed among the enemy ranks. During the battle, in which Arthur and Caerleon's champion are reasonably matched, Morgana enchants Arthur's sword to vastly increase its weight, making it virtually unusable. Caerleon's champion immediately takes the upper hand, but Merlin intervenes to allow Arthur to snatch the victory.

Arthur defeated the champion but does not kill him, having learnt his lesson about mercy. Annis approaches him and the two make peace, with Annis commenting that she had misjudged Arthur and that he offered hope to them all as king. Arthur then returns to Camelot where he retracts his earlier words to Gwen and reinstates their relationship.

His Father's Son. While on an excursion with the Knights of Camelot and Merlin, Arthur is ambushed by mercenaries, leaving Merlin badly wounded. Arthur and Merlin are then separated from the rest of the knights and forced to spend the night in the forest. The next morning, Arthur carries Merlin in an attempt to escape, but they are once again ambushed by the mercenaries.

Merlin sacrificed his own safety to protect Arthur by using magic to cause a rockfall, blocking the mercenaries' route to Arthur but trapping himself with them in the process.

Arthur, yelling out Merlin's name but powerless to help, goes on to organize search parties for his friend, though Agravaine informs him that Merlin is most certainly gone. Arthur is then told by Sir Leon that there is a traitor inside Camelot telling their secrets to their enemies.

The next morning Arthur is introduced to a new manservant, George , who is infinitely more efficient and competent as a servant than Merlin, but Arthur, fond of Merlin and disliking the change, quickly rebuffs him. Arthur continuing to search for Merlin in the morning with Gwaine, Arthur, overjoyed, finds Merlin in the forest. They return to Camelot, unaware that Merlin has been held captive by Morgana who has inserted a Fomorroh leaving Merlin with the sole intent of trying to kill Arthur.

Arthur, however, remains oblivious to Merlin's clumsy attempts to assassinate him and confronts Agravaine, asking if he was the traitor but believing him when he claimed he was not.

Arthur continues to be unaware of Merlin's attempts on his life, leaving Gaius and Gwen to have to knock Merlin out in order to paralyse the Fomorroh and give Merlin back his mind so he can kill the beast. Arthur, however, believes that Merlin has been spending time in the tavern in his absence and therefore orders him to be trained by George, the manservant Arthur dubs utterly "boring". A Servant of Two Masters. Arthur continues to be concerned by the presence of a traitor among his inner circle.

Agravaine and Morgana scheme to use the opportunity to be rid of Gaius, planting doubts in Arthur's mind about his loyalty. Arthur therefore decides to allow Agravaine to question Gaius about his views on magic and whether he knew more about the sorcerer, Dragoon the Great, who had 'killed' Uther Pendragon. Though Arthur is unhappy at treating Gaius in this way, he senses that Gaius is hiding something. When news of Gaius' disappearance reaches him Arthur takes it as evidence that Gaius is the traitor and is now fleeing because of it.

Arthur, though he shows sympathy and understanding to a deeply upset Merlin, argues with him when he suggested that Agravaine is not to be trusted. However, when it becomes clear that Gaius has been kidnapped and is not the traitor in Camelot, Arthur goes to him and apologizes profusely.

He also asks Gaius why he had not told the truth about Dragoon the Great, to which Gaius answers that he had been protecting him from Arthur's punishment since he had truly tried to save Uther. Arthur accepts this explanation and seems to have calmed over the situation, no longer as wrathful towards Dragoon the Great. The Secret Sharer. When Gwen's old friend Mary comes to Camelot asking for the King's aid, as her hometown of Longstead is being ravaged by an incurable disease, Arthur feels honour-bound to help and sends Merlin, Gwen and a detachment of his knights to investigate.

After a few days Arthur becomes worried when his friends do not return and decides to lead a group himself to investigate, taking Gaius and Agravaine with him. Arthur grows even more concerned when Gaius informs him that a Lamia might be on the loose. The King is therefore determined to save his friends, ignoring Agravaine's objections. After a long search, Arthur arrives at the castle to which the Lamia had lured her victims, just in time to kill it and save Merlin and Gwen from their fate.

Back in Camelot, Arthur expresses his admiration for Gwen's courage during the ordeal. Prompted by the incident with the Lamia, Arthur decides it is time to propose to Gwen. The legend of the 5th-century British king who defended his country against the Saxon invaders has been literally retold for centuries.

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword hits the sweet spot where fans of superhero blockbusters, Lord of the Rings , and Game of Thrones overlap. History is beside the point. The characters in Legend of the Sword are technically living in the 5th century C. Three of those side characters stand out. Goosefat Bill Aidan Gillen and Bedivere Djimon Hounsou have been working as resistance fighters since — during a war between men and mages, a.

They know what Arthur needs to do to save the people, and they are going to get him to do it, regardless of what he wants. Arthur was a little boy when Vortigern took over, but Uther managed to get little Arthur onto a boat that floated from Camelot down to Londinium, where he was taken in by the women of a brothel.

He grew up on the streets, living a hard-knock life that left him with some great fighting skills courtesy of Kung-Fu George Tom Wu , an extremely ripped upper-body musculature, and a tender loyalty toward both the women who raised him and the lads he came up with.

He is not happy about this. King Arthur: Legend of the Sword is clearly modeled on well-established superhero genre conventions. Arthur is a humble hero whose parents were murdered in front of him. Though born to greatness, he is raised in obscurity. He must battle an evil villain who is also closely related to him.

He has magical powers. But while the arc is predictable, it also feels surprisingly fresh, if you take it as a superhero story. What keeps it all together is Hunnam, whose appeal has finally become evident to me after this film and the much better Lost City of Z.

He slips easily into the role, with his mellifluous voice and Disney-prince handsomeness, and since his Arthur talks like a regular bloke, he never seems too self-conscious in the role. Add that hyperstylization to a self-conscious actor like Robert Downey, Jr. Arthur has superpowers granted by the sword, but the real superpowers, the movie suggests, come from the street smarts and scrappy lads from Londinium. The virtues of the average bloke on the street — even the ones who resort to shady means to get by — far outpaces the corruption of the high-born.

Arthur unites the two, though, and thus the legend spreads fast. Later, on board Shrek's ship, Artie is only too excited to be on his way to the throne, until Donkey and Puss inadvertently scare him by talking about the grave responsibilities of being king.

Terrified, Artie balks, and begins to steer the ship back. Shrek tries to convince him to stop, but the ensuing argument they have causes their ship to crash onto an island, also nearly causing Donkey to be seasick. They continue to argue, and Artie runs into his old magic teacher, Merlin 's hut.

The wizard agrees to help them, but only after taking the "Journey to their Soul" since he and Artie have only recently been in a "self-destructive rage spat". Artie, upon looking into the fire of truth, sees a father bird leaving a chick in its nest.

The chick tries and fails to fly, falling. He quickly comprehends that the bird is his father, who left him. Shrek and he have a heart-to-heart talk, where both explain the distance they had with their fathers Artie having never known his, Shrek having been nearly eaten by his dad. They form an understanding friendship, and Artie begins to accept who he is as a person, rather than who he is as other people judge him to be.

Next morning, however, they are attacked by evil trees, the Pirates , and their leader, Captain Hook , announces that "King Charming" is managing the kingdom and that Princess Fiona is in trouble.

Artie manages to convince Merlin to send them back to Far Far Away. They infiltrate Charming's quarters, and Charming, anticipating their moves, sends for guards and holds Artie hostage.

To save Artie's life, Shrek demands Charming to let Artie go, and unbeknownst to Artie insults Artie, saying that he "needed some fool to replace me, and you fit the bill". Artie angrily shrugs off his captors and leaves, heartbroken.

However, Puss and Donkey later explain that Shrek only lied to save him, reminding Artie that Charming was about to kill him and Shrek saved him at the last minute. Artie returns at the climax of the play and convinces Hook and the other villains to surrender their evil ways by saying what Shrek told him: Just because you may be treated like a loser or a villain, it doesn't mean you are one.

He helps Shrek defeat Charming, and once the tower is knocked on top of the prince, he takes the crown that falls, after Shrek gives him the choice to do so or not. Artie puts the crown on his head, and begins his reign as King. In the yearbook photo, he is shown to have his arms crossed and either him or the others are trying to keep their distance.